[OGD] Cyclopogon elatus

From: viateur.boutot@xxxxxxxxxxxx

To: orchids@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:30:06 -0500

?at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park?
the rediscovery of a lost orchid species.
? Cyclopogon elatus, a flowering spike shooting up from a rotting log.
? Not since 1980 in Miami-Dade County ­ and, before that, 1961 in
Miami-Dade and 1881 in Hernando County ­ had anyone recorded seeing the
species, according to the ? ?The Native Orchids of Florida.?
?
the preserve? regarded as the Orchid Capital of the United States, about
75,000 acres ?
The Fakahatchee find? a? new location for the orchid, and there?s lot of
them there?
found 92 of the orchids growing within a mile or so.
In 1961, orchid hunters John Beckner and Carlyle Luer found only three of
the plants growing in a hardwood hammock in Miami-Dade.
Luer and Beckner feared the hammock was slated for development as a
subdivision and so took the orchids home to flower for identification, Luer
wrote.
?It?s most encouraging to encounter such a Florida rarity,? Luer wrote in
?The Native Orchids of Florida? in 1972.
?Since it has now been found by chance in two widely separated localities,
it most probably lurks elsewhere,? he wrote.
?
At 19 miles long and five miles wide, the Fakahatchee is a big target for
orchid seeds blown by hurricanes or dropped by birds.
Previous surveyors easily could have missed the little plant if it wasn?t
blooming, he said.
The Fakahatchee?s central slough, where the orchids were found, is not an
easy place to get to in the first place.
Owen[Fakahatchee Strand park biologist Mike?] plans to send one of the
specimens to the University of South Florida, where it will be preserved
for future research.
The rediscovery of Cyclopogon elatus brings to 46 the number of native
orchid species found growing at Fakahatchee Strand.?
URL :
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/mar/17/rare-orchid-found-fakahatchee-not-seen-florida-196/
Photos :
http://ms2.naplesnews.com/npdn/content/img/photos/2009/03/17/Cyclopogon-elatus-1_t600.jpghttp://ms2.naplesnews.com/npdn/content/img/photos/2009/03/17/Cyclopogon-closeup-2_t600.jpg
**************
Regards,
VB